Another Day Goes By
by Elizabeth Jacobs
Summary: Booth finds love post-Hannah
1. Chapter 1 Could it Be

I sat at the counter at the Royal Diner in Washington DC, waiting for my pie. A disgruntled man in a suit sat beside me, a younger, wiry man following behind him, obviously pestering the first man.

"Pie, please," the first man said to the woman behind the counter. Just as the second man pulled in a breath to speak, the first man turned to him and fired:

"Sweets, I'm not talking to you about my child hood ever, and definitely not in public." Boom. Kid explodes.

"Booth, if we never talk about it, then your whole childhood will be _haunted_ by memories of your father—" This Booth guy whipped around and shot this poor kid who just wanted his attention a deadly glare.

"I swear to GOD, Sweets, I'm not talking about my old man. You already know more than you should. More than anyone but me, Jared, and the old man should." The first man then turned to me, his eyes softening as they met mine.

"You're an incredibly beautiful girl," he said, my face turning pink at the compliment, "how do you get rid of people you don't want to talk to?" I thought for a moment, looking for an answer that didn't include changing my face into weird expressions—this guy was _really_ cute.

"I tell them I'm pregnant with my seventh child, usually. That makes them not want too much." I expected him to laugh, but he turned, serious as death, to this kid, Sweets or whatever.

"Sweets, I'm pregnant."

"Congratulations. Now let's talk about your father."

"Let it go, Sweets." The woman placed both of our pies in front of us, his along with a coffee, black.

"So," I said awkwardly, not leaving the conversation without a fight, "Is it a boy or a girl? You're not even showing." He chuckled.

"I might say the same to you. I'm Seely Booth, this is Sweets." I smiled at…Sweets. What kind of a name is that?

"Jay Gilroy. Nice to meet you, Mr. Booth."

"The same to you. And Seely, please." I smiled cordially at him. Gosh, he was really attractive, I couldn't get over it. His smile was wide and white, heart-poundingly charming.

"Seely," I said, liking the way it tasted.

"So, Jay," he said, trying to establish something in common, "What do you do for a living?"

"To pay the bills, I waitress, but I'm actually a starving artist." I laughed quietly. That was the first time I'd referred to myself that way.

"What's your medium? Charcoal, pencil, paint?"

"Words. I'm an author. Novelist, really. How about you? You strike me as someone with a soft spot for hard music."

"I do love me some oldies, but you're looking at Special Agent Booth of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, though I work with the scientists over at the Jeffersonian institute."

"Impressive," I said, actually impressed. Well, that explained the suit. "And you, Mr. Sweets?"

"Doctor, actually. FBI psychologist." I nodded, unsure of what to say next these were the great thinkers and doers of the American public. I, a lowly writer.

"Well, I always knew this pie was to die for. Did someone really? Why's the FBI here?"

"For a slice of pie and coffee," answered Seely Booth. "Working all night can leave a man hungry." My hair fell in my face. How silly. What did I think he was going to say? Yes, actually. Counter lady, you're under arrest for making a perfect apple pie. You have the right to cook forever. Jeeze, I'm a loser. Dr. Sweets elbowed Special Agent Seely Booth in the ribs. After a muttered 'ow' and gentle shove, he turned to me.

"Do you maybe wanna grab a drink with me sometime?"

"I'd love to," I said, slowly lifting his phone off the counter, making sure it was okay, and tapping in my number. "Call me, maybe?" I smiled one last time and made my get away. As I stood on the street corner, waiting for an empty cab, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I started to say, but I was cut off by a male voice.

"How about Saturday at eight. Founding Fathers?"

"Seely Booth," I said in recognition. I turned round to see him looking out at me through the big window. He waved, just one shake of the hand, acknowledging me. He had his phone to his ear and a smile on his face.

"Sound good?" he asked, his lips in synchronization with the words in my ear.

"Sounds more than perfect."

"It's a date."

"That it is." I smile. Wow. I had a date with _him_.

"I'll see you then," he said in closing.

"Not if I see you first." I heard the click of his phone and saw a laugh on his mouth as a cab pulled over to take me home.


	2. Chapter 2 The Promise is Undeniable

That Saturday night, I was putting on my prettiest little dress and finishing my long hair curled into big loose curls with a little hairspray. My phone vibrated, notifying me that I was late, per usual. I grabbed my coat and handbag as I flew out the door. I hailed a cab and asked the cabbie for Founding Fathers, the great restaurant Seeley had asked me to.

"Quickly," rushed the fat, balding cabbie, "I'm late for a first date." The cab lurched forward, bobbing and weaving through the thick, jungle-like DC traffic. I leapt out of the cab as it hit the curb, throwing hopefully enough money at the cabbie. "Thanks," I called as I sprinted through the door. I hurried into the restaurant and saw Seeley at a table in the back, playing on his phone and nursing a scotch on the rocks.

"Hi," I said as I sat down, my cheeks rosy from the cool autumn evening. I was only five minutes late. I slid my jacket onto the chair and put my bag between my feet.

"Hi," he said with a smile. "Have you been here before?"

"Only all the time," I said with a laugh as I flagged down the bartender for a glass of wine. He rolled his scotch in his glass as he struggled for something to say. I relieved him.

"Any murders go behind bars today?" he chuckled lightly.

"Not today. I spent the day with my…um…my son, Parker." He seemed embarrassed, why? Because he had a kid?

"That's awesome! How old is he?"

"Eight. I get him some weekends and usually Christmas eve and day."

"That's great." I wanted to know if Parker's mother had once been a Mrs. Booth or if it had never gotten that far. He answered without me having to ask.

"Rebecca wouldn't marry me. I asked her when she was pregnant with Parker."

"Well, she was silly not to take you up on that. You seem like a really great guy." I smiled at him and dropped my hand on his comfortingly. Was he damaged goods? Was he broken?

"Write anything today?" he asked me, changing the topic to work. His expression lightened as he leaned in, his head on his hand, interested.

"Yep. Another chapter done. That's why I was late. Sorry, really, I know it's not the best first-date impression. I lost track of time and suddenly it was seven thirty… I'm sorry."

"It's okay, no problem, really. I want to hear what you're writing about." His smile was contagious. We stayed in the bar until almost midnight, when I checked the time and remembered.

"Oh my gosh, I have to go," I said with a self-conscious laugh. What was I going to say when he asked why? Most guys don't like girls in their twenties devoted to religion. They think you're like a holy-roller prudeasaurus. Like 'don't kiss me until we're married!' Yeah, okay. Sayonara. I'm just careful, that's all. And when they hear 'Catholic' they think of their grandparents. Oh gosh. Here we go. It's like well, hello there, then you pull out the Jesus thing and they make a B-Line for the door.

"It's almost midnight, I have to go, I have to get up early tomorrow."

"On a Sunday morning? What for?" he was honestly curious. Heck, maybe he did the whole Sunday mass thing too.

"I have nine thirty mass."

"Really? What are you?" he was referring to religion. I mean, there's no easy way to ask that question.

"Roman Catholic," I said, flinching. Here we go.

"Really? Me too!"

"Well, it's a plan. Nine thirty. You had better sit with me, Seeley Booth," I said laughing.

"I have Parker…"

"That's okay. We'll get breakfast at the diner and make an event of it." I smiled, liking the idea. Jay, my dear, you are a genius.

"That sounds great. Parker loves the diner."

"Wonderful. I'll need his blessing if this is going to work. I can't have your son hating me," we both laughed.

"I doubt he'd hate you. I think you're pretty fantastic." I blushed crimson.

"Well, I'll see you there." I stood and shrugged on my jacket. Seeley stood and grabbed my bag off the floor and handed it to me. When he stood at his full height, what seemed to be about six-one, I place my hand on his cheek and kissed his other lightly.

"Thank you so much," I said looking at him from under my side bangs and eyelashes heavy with mascara, "I had a really great time tonight." I pulled my wallet out of my bag, about to drop enough cash to cover my two glasses of wine on the table.

"No, no," he said, being the perfect gentleman, "I've got it." He handed the money back to me.

I smiled coyly at him again and said, "thank you, again, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Bye," he spoke softly, reluctantly. I went outside, hailed a cab, and gave the cabbie my address. Suddenly, my door was open, Seeley's face mere inches from mine.

"I couldn't let you go, do you want to come back to my place?" I looked at him with sad eyes.

"With Parker? And then get up and do the walk of shame to mass? I'm sorry, Seeley, but I'm not one of those girls. It's too soon. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? Then breakfast? My meter's running, I've got to go."

"Okay," he conceded, "just, one more thing…" his hand was warm and soft against my face. He bent lower, leaned in…his lips brushed mine first and my eyes fluttered closed. His lips touched mine again and pressed, kissing me. My heart leapt through my chest. He broke it too soon for my taste; I could have gone all night. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, almost breathless.

"Bye," I said the same way, my breath gone with him. He closed the door and the cabbie pulled away from him. He stood there and watched with a sweet little smile on his face. As he was about to disappear, I saw him start towards the back parking lot, then he was gone. Now he would go home, pay his babysitter, kiss parker goodnight before tucking himself in, saying his Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes. I would go home, brush my teeth, have a glass of water and recite the same prayers. I'd fall asleep to a sickeningly appropriate playlist of Taylor Swift and the like, saying how glorious the world must be to have love in it. Now I don't know if this is love, but it sure is a promising start.

That was the most spectacular touch I have ever experienced. His warm, sweet, brown eyes, getting closer to my blue, then slowly fluttering shut just before his warm, soft lips brushed mine. He tasted like scotch. And I was surely drunk off his touch.


	3. Chapter 3 The Relationship Christened

My alarm went off at seven thirty on the nose. Like the walking dead, I found myself in the shower, turning on the water. It took a minute before I became truly fully conscious. I continued through my morning routine: shower, blow dry hair, clothes, OJ, power bar. I checked the time, nine oh four. I hurried downstairs and to the curb where I hailed a cab.

I got out of the cab and hurried up the steps ten minutes before mass began. Early, for once. I scanned the crowd for Seeley. My heart either stopped all together or started pounding three million miles an hour—I'm not sure—as a pair of familiar, sweet, soft, and warm brown eyes met mine. They broke away for a moment as they moved to a little boy with a crazy curly mop of hair and the same beautiful eyes. They both waved to me as I hurried over and scooted past Parker to Seeley's other side.

"Hi," he said and kissed me quickly. My heart leapt just like it had the night before.

"Hi, Seeley," I said as I slipped my hand into his. I looked at Parker, cementing his face into my mind. "Hi," I said to him, "Parker, right?" he nodded with a big smile.

"Hi. Yeah. What's your name again? Daddy told me, but I forgot."

"Jay."

"Isn't that a boy's name?" Parker said innocently, not aiming to offend.

"Parker," Seeley scolded, "That's rude."

"It's okay," I said, soothing him and rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand. "It's a nickname."

"Well, then what's it short for?" Parker demanded, in a question phase, obviously.

"Jacquelynne. I think it's too long. I like Jay much better."

"Oh, is that like how dad's name is Seeley but everyone but you and mom just calls him Booth?"

"Kind of." The organ started to play and we all rose as mass began. Periodically, Parker would say something to Seeley, who would ignore him again and again until he got loud enough it elicit a sharp, hissing, "shhh!"

The whole mass, I was thanking GOD for sending me this opportunity with Seeley, it had been a long time since I'd met a halfway decent guy and I prayed he'd stick around for at least a little while. As we stood for communion, I watched Seeley move, fluid, strong. He was a big guy, not necessarily height wise, but in build. He was so muscular, with big hands and broad shoulders. As he turned into line, his head bowed, revealing a beautiful profile, a crooked nose, obviously broken a few too many times. He was so beautiful. His eyes were closed, his expression pensive. As he placed the host in his mouth, I caught a glimpse of his teeth, straight, perfect, white. His canines were a wee bit longer and pointed than all his other teeth, but not in a vampirey way, in a strong, confident, masculine way, if that makes any sense.

In short, he was as beautiful as beautiful could be, more than any actor I'd watched or high school football player I'd kissed. When we reached our pew again, I praised the Sweet Lord Jesus Christ.

"The Lord be with you," the priest called out to us.

"And also with your spirit," we said, stumbling over the new translation, 'and with your spirit' instead of 'and also with you'. The deacon dismissed us. Seeley threaded his fingers through mine and my heart pounded. I smiled to myself as Parker quizzed us on what we were doing now.

"You didn't tell him?" I asked Seeley.

"Nope. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Church doesn't count as a date, does it?" I asked, ready for a shaky response.

"Breakfast does."

"With Parker?" he stopped, wrapped one arm around my waist, the other gingerly behind my head. He wore a slight smile as he pulled me close, planting one on me, kissing me deeply for the first time. Wow, that sure beats the sweet pecks I've gotten so far. His touch teemed with electricity.

"Ew, dad," Parker said, trying to pull him back off my unsuccessfully. A mixed message. Disgusted in the childlike sense, but so glad his father's life was joyful again. The kiss got hotter and heavier until I was convinced I would simply melt.

"Dad," Parker said, embarrassed, "People are staring."

"Shh, Parker," Seeley mumbled through my lips, toying with the long tendrils of hair in the middle of my shoulder blades. I withdrew; a smile on my lips and a sweet blush on my cheeks.

"That," Seeley whispered in my ear with his arm around my waist as we progressed to the car, "The fact that I'd do that with my eight year old son around, constitutes this a second date." Unsure of what to say next, I settled for,

"Constitutes. Good word." I stepped away from his arm and knotted my fingers in his. He loosened his tie with his left hand; his right was keeping mine warm from the biting October air.

"He's so cute, Seeley," I said, swaying into him, bumping him one step out of his path. Seeley chuckled.

"That's all Rebecca."

"Really? Because I see your very spitting image." He chuckled again, skeptically.

"You laugh," I said with my own quiet titter. Parker's small hand was poised on the back door handle, ready to escape the cool breeze. The car beeped as Seeley unlocked it with the remote, Parker scurrying into the car, calling for us to hurry up. Seeley came over, opening my door for me before walking to the driver's side and wrenching the key in the ignition, pumping up the heat and turning on my seat warmer. We all clipped in our seatbelts and settled in for the ride to the diner. Seeley undid the very top button, letting the collar relax. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and I closed my eyes, thinking how lucky I must be.


	4. Chapter 4 A Breakfast Crashed

PLEASE COMMENT GUYS! I NEED THE FEEDBACK!3

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><p>Seeley sped towards the diner, barely noticing the other cars.<p>

"Flip on the siren, why don't you. It'll keep everyone safe." I was clinging to the seat for dear life. He was looking at me as if to say "really?"

"JESUS, SEELEY, WATCH THE ROAD!" I was scared to death. And they sat women are awful drivers.

"Jay, you shouldn't say 'Jesus' unless you're praying."

"Thank you, Parker. I know you're right." Seeley chuckled as he let his lead foot off the gas a little. Not much, not under the speed limit, but it was better than the three billion miles an hour he was flying at before. He flipped on his blinker and pulled into the diner. Parker's sweet face came up over the console, looking at his dad.

"Breakfast?" he said, his voice anxious and excited. Seeley got out and quickly came around to open my door. I was surprised. No one had ever opened a car door and helped me out before. He stretched his hand out to me with a sweet smile on his face as he helped me down.

"Yeah," he said, responding to Parker's question, then giving credit to all due parties: "It was Jay's idea." Parker leapt out and gave me a big hug around my waist.

"Dad, I like her." I giggled lightly as Seeley intertwined our fingers.

"Me too, kid." I looked down, letting my hair fall in my face as I blushed bright red. Parker let go of me and ran inside, staking out his favorite table. Seeley and I sauntered in after him.

"Wow," Seeley said as I glanced up at him, "You are so beautiful embarrassed." My already rose face got exponentially darker. Just before we stepped through the door, he backed me into the wall and kissed me. My embarrassment disappeared momentarily, then swelled as I remembered we were on a public street corner. I gently pushed him back with my hands on his chest, but his lips stayed secure against mine. I laughed through his kiss.

"Jeeze, Seeley, it's like you've never kissed before."

"I'm offended," his said jokingly, holding my close, his arms around me.

"I meant," I amended, "That you can't keep your hands off me," I said, with a tone of voice suggesting I didn't mind at all. A man tried to squeeze past us. A muttered "'scuse me," was responded to by Seeley with such a man's response: "Sorry, man, but can you blame me?" he struck like a cobra to kiss me again, quickly but softly, but I was faster, turning my head so his sweet lips simply, sweetly brushed my residually pink cheek. I twisted out of his arms in the same motion and skipped into the Diner. I took the seat across from Parker and ran a hand through my silky straight hair.

"You look just like your dad," I told Parker with a smile.

"Yeah. He's _my_ dad. You had better not make his so sad like Hannah did. That wouldn't be cool and I'd be mad at you. And it would take you like _six_ breakfasts to make up for it," he told me and I smiled. The world is so beautiful and simple through the eyes of a child. I could pay for breaking his own father's heart with six breakfasts at this crappy old diner.

"Okay. I promise." I ignored the part about Hannah. I didn't know anything, but it must have really cut Seeley deep if Parker knew about it. Seeley took the seat next to Parker, sweetly bumping his feet with mine. After a minute or two of looking over the menu, a woman's voice sounded above all the other little diner sounds: the quiet early morning chatter, the clinking of silverware, the screeching of chairs as people stood to use the bathroom or leave.

"No, Angela, if the pelvis is narrower, it's male."

"What if it was just a really skinny little girl?"

"Prepubescent?"

"A child, you mean? No, um, slim. Small in stature."

"Bones?" Seeley said loudly, as if interjecting in the conversation, asking if they were really talking about dead people as we were eating.

"Booth!" the first woman, the one who knew her bones, exclaimed in recognition.

"Booth," the second girl, Angela, said in a coo, nearly.

"Bones, Ang, what's up? Do we have a case? No one called me."

"No, no case," said Angela, a tall, very beautiful, woman with an Asian influence in her features, but spoke with a voice free of accent.

"It's a man," the first woman began, shooting a glance at Angela, "from the early to mid-fifteen hundreds."

"Oh," Seeley said, now completely uninterested. The first woman, the bone lady, was beautiful in a cold sense. There was no love in her eyes, they looked to be clouded with too much logic, not enough faith.

"Jay, this is Dr. Brennan from the Jeffersonian, she's a forensic anthropologist—"

"The _best_ forensic anthropologist," she said, not joking or smiling, but serious as I had gathered she was ninety eight percent of the time. Seeley then continued:

"Which means she works with bones. This is Angela Montenegro, she does facial reconstruction for identification and makes graphics and stuff." I smiled cordially at them, very uncomfortable. "Bones, Ang, this is Jay." Dr. Brennan ignored m completely.

"Hi, Parker," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Bones." Parker said, still very focused on the dog he was drawing on a napkin with a pen his father had given him. He called her Bones, just like his dad.

"Parker, come on, kid, Dt. Brennan, please. Try to be respectful," Seeley scolded. Angela sat on the stool by the counter, facing us, and Dr. Brennan did the same.

"So you guys are like together, huh?" Angela said, gesturing at me and Seeley.

"Well, it's only our second date…" Angela turned to me.

"Booth is very loved. We will _all_, at the Jeffersonian, act out the perfect murder on you. Dr. Brennan's got it the whole thing planned out."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a gulp.

"The squint squad is something to fear," Seeley said, clearly trying to make a joke.

"We are," Dr. Brennan said matter-of-factly, "Zack Addy was a squint and he _ate_ somebody. "

I shot a frightened look at Seeley. "Did he really?"

"Yeah, but he was a little out there." He gestured his hand and whistled like something was moving farther away.

"Zack Addy was a genius," Dr. Brennan defended, offense in her voice.

"He was creepy, Bones."

"Brilliant, Booth. He was the brightest grad student I've ever had the pleasure to know." I stayed very quiet while the conversation existed around me. Before long, my food was placed in front of me: two buttermilk pancakes, hash browns, and two pieces of bacon. It was the biggest breakfast I'd had in a long time; I usually just had half a grapefruit and water or a sliced apple and peanut butter. Lots of fruit. I didn't want to get fat; I wanted to hang on to my college-volleyball body as long as I could.

I looked up at Seeley, examining his strikingly handsome face. His eye met mine. He placed his fork beside his plate and draped his hand sweetly over mine.

Day two—I was smitten.


	5. Chapter 5 A Misunderstanding

THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT COMMENTS GUYS! KEEP 'EM COMING! LOVE TO HEAR! 3 SORRY FOR THE WAIT, BEEN REALLY BUSY LATELY! 3

Thursday morning, I awoke with a text. I rolled over, rubbing my eyes and fumbling for my phone. My radio roared to life as I bumped the on button in my nearly blind search. My fingers brushed the cool glass of my iPhone. I picked it up and held it over my head, trying to get my eyes to focus on the words.

'Seeley Booth' it told me as I squinted into the light and unlocked it. I hated the time—eight thirty two. I unlocked my phone and tapped 'read' as I wiped the early morning eye crusties away.

'Hi. I know you're probably not up yet, but I just wanted to tell you that I can't stop thinking about you. I'm free for lunch today. I just wanted to let you know…I have a good feeling about this. –Booth, err, Seeley'

I touched the reply bar and typed quickly, not needing to see the keys to know how to say what I wanted to—lesser than sign, the number three. Send. I tossed my phone on my pillow, rolled over, and threw the blankets back over my head. It vibrated under my cheek and lit up in my eye.

'Seeley Booth'

'3 you ARE up! So, lunch with the squints?'

I groaned as I turned over onto my elbows.

'Are they all like Dr. Brennan?' send. I kicked off my covers and slowly, gingerly padded on my achy feet to the kitchen where I got a glass of water and turned on my laptop. Another text lit my phone.

'Um, not all of them. Angela's husband Hodgins is a conspiracy theorist but he's normal enough to have a conversation with. I'm just going to call you. It'll take too long to text it all." Just as I finished, the phone vibrated and Seeley's picture popped up on the screen along with his name and 'accept' and 'ignore'. Accept.

"Hi," he said sweetly. "Where was I?"

"Hodgins? And how come you all have strange names? Hodgins? Bones? Seeley? Actually, Seeley's pretty cool, verging on special." He laughed, but was clearly trying to contain the joyful sound.

"Bones is just a nickname." In the background, I heard someone say,

"Who are you talking to? No one but you calls me Bones." He chuckled before giving me the Sparknotes version of the squints.

"Hodgins is the bug and slime guy," he began before a voice in the background, this one male, said,

"Whoa, now, Booth, who are you talking to?" then it was Seeley's voice, only distant.

"Hodgins. Give me back my phone."

"Who is this?" Hodgins said, sounding annoyed.

"This is the person on the other end of Seeley's phone. I kinda want to talk to Seeley. Isn't it illegal to take something from a federal agent?"

"Let's go with no." He then started talking to someone else, his voice becoming distant. "Who calls you 'Seeley'? I mean, Jeeze, Booth, you're so…Booth." then he was talking to me again. "Oh, are you Booth's new girlfriend?" the last word got quieter as the phone was pulled away.

"I'm sorry about that, Jay, the squints are a nosy bunch." There was a background chorus of 'put it on speaker!' I heard him sigh.

"Is that okay? Do you mind?"

"Nah, it's fine." I heard a click and then a lot of white noise, footsteps, sniffles, and the like. There was a soft thud as he placed it on a table or something.

"You're on with the Squint Squad," Seeley sighed. Most of the following voices were unidentifiable.

"Is this very professional?"

"Shut up, Clark." That was Angela, I think.

"Hello, various people I cannot see," I said with a chuckle. There was a chorus of greetings:

"Hi." "Hello." "Hey." "Wassup?"

"What's going on up here?"

"Cam, it was a Squindea." That was Seeley. A combination if 'squint' and 'idea'.

"Hello?" said the woman called Cam.

"Hi," I said cheerfully. She carried authority in her voice. I didn't want to make bad with Seeley's boss, if she was his boss. "Seeley—"

"Who calls you Seeley?" Cam again.

"Seeley, I have to go," I finished after the interruption.

"Oh!" Seeley took the phone off speaker. "Okay. About lunch…?"

"The diner. Noon, okay?"

"Alright."

"Text me. Or be alone, that was kind of confusing."

"Yep."

"Okay. Bye." I hung up, slightly dazed, confused as to what had just happened. I dropped my phone beside my laptop and went to shower. I got out and let my hair air dry as I sat down to write, periodically checking the time. As it grew close to eleven, I picked a pretty sundress, belting it at the waist with a wide braided leather belt. I put on my favorite grey booties and a short black cardigan with a lace back, grabbed my apartment keys and headed for the Royal. I checked the time and paid the driver with just about the last of my cash. My debit card, which I tried not to use, would soon become a necessity if I didn't make good tips tonight. I worked at one of the nicest restaurants around, somewhere I'd never ever be able to eat at off duty, but when you work the dinner shift, you can usually snag some pasta or better if you're friends with the kitchen staff. I mean, when your bill is close to two hundred dollars, you should be well enough off to leave a decent tip. If your bill is one-fifty and you're leaving the accepted fifteen percent, that's a solid twenty-three dollar tip. That could buy me plenty of ramen. I get around ten tables a night, about two per hour I work, so in a night I could make like two hundred dollars on tips alone.

I got out of the cab and sat at Parker's favorite table and waited of Seeley. I was five minutes early for noon. Twelve came and went, as did twelve thirty and one o'clock followed suit. I left then, a little flustered, and hailed a cab for the Jeffersonian. He said he'd be there all day. I called over to the FBI building first, a number I'd gotten from 411, the directory. After the official FBI greeting, I asked for Seeley.

"May I speak to special agent Booth please?"

"May I ask who's calling?"

"It's Jay Gilroy. He missed our lunch date." She was gone for a moment, and then returned.

"He's not in the building. Would you like me to connect you to the Jeffersonian Institute? He's probably there if he's not here."

"No thank you. Thank you for your time." I hung up and waited patiently for the rest of the ride. As the cab approached the mostly glass building, I looked in awe at the immaculately kept sprawling gardens. At the door, I got a visitor's pass and directions to the lab of Dr. Temperance Brennan. I walked up the flight of stairs and through the open sliding doors into an open room with a raised platform in the middle and what looked like offices behind it. Dr. Brennan was working on it and looked up at me when she heard the low click of my heels.

"Can I help you?"

"Um, yes, I'm looking for See-err, Booth. Please." I smiled in an attempt to be friendly. Se coldly pointed towards an office.

"Angela's office." I made my escape in the direction she pointed anxious to get out of her judgmental gaze. As I walked in, I saw Seeley, Angela, and another man with a mass of curly hair all looking at a virtual 3-D thing. As they heard the click of my flats, the curly-haired man turned and looked at me with piercing, child-like joyful blue eyes.

"Hel-lo," he said, still the only one facing me.

"Hodgins," Angela scolded, and then smiled at me. "Hi," she said calmly, in that cool tone she always used, but my attention was fixed on the handsome man in the black suit who was avoiding my look. He was the last one with his back to me.

"If you were going to stand me up, you should have made yourself more difficult to find." I shifted my weight to my right foot and tugged at the bottom of my dress nervously. I didn't know how to handle this. I didn't have much experience with men at all. Oh dear god I shouldn't have even come.

"Oooh, Booth, man, you are in trou-ble," the man Angela called Hodgins said as if it was second grade again and someone got called to the principal's office.

"Jay, I am SO sorry. Angela made a graphic of the ballistics and then Hodgins found some slime," Hodgins waved, gesturing that Hodgins, was in fact, he, "and I just got so caught up, I'm sorry," he pulled me into him and kissed my forehead. "Can you forgive me?" I put my hand on his cheek, then looped my arms around my neck and gently touched my lips to his.

"With a face like this," I said as I ran a thumb across his cheek, "I couldn't stay mad for long." He looked back at Angela and Hodgins, who has his arms around her.

"Booth, you got a free pass out of the dog house. Take it, man, and run," Hodgins said with a laugh.

"The graphic and the slime will still be here when you get back," Angela added logically. I flashed a smile and a quick thank you as Seeley knotted his fingers in mine and we rushed past Dr. Brennan's platform.

"Booth, where are you going?" she called almost angrily.

"Lunch," he called back without stopping.

"You can't! We need you!"

"Too bad, Bones, I've got a date." As we got to the door, we were stopped by a very beautiful woman, tall and thin, stopped us.

"Booth, where are you going? Who's this?"

"Jay, Cam, Cam, Jay." He said, introducing us. "Lunch. Gotta go." He pushed past her and we ran to his car and laughingly turned on the sirens as we sped off to the diner. We stumbled in, tripping over ourselves and laughing, at one thirty, an hour and a half after our original plan. He ordered a cheeseburger; I ordered a chicken and cheese quesadilla.

"So, he said, putting a fry in his mouth, "Give me your story. Madam Writer." I took a sip of water and took a breath.

"I grew up in Connecticut and I was the definition of a rich bitch, but we truly weren't all that rich. I had my own horse, which was the very best part of my life, I went to a catholic high school, I complained about everything," I chuckled a little, "But when I was seventeen, my fifteen year old brother Tim died in a car crash, one of my best friend got pregnant and kicked out of school. Dana miscarried, but never went back to school. I think she's a hair dresser now. My parents are still dysfunctional. I left right out of college, so I haven't even spoken to them in five years. I'm trying to get published and I have a good gig waitressing. And," I said playfully, "I met this cool new guy and I think there might be something there."

"Cool new guy?" he asked. I wasn't sure if he was serious or playing.

"Yeah. With a name I'd never heard before."

"Hm?" he said, asking the name.

"Seeley." I dropped my hand on his. Before long, we finished and paid, and I asked him to come back to mine for a little while, to hang out. As soon as we were behind closed doors, he kissed me with an intense passion. I laughed and ran over to my laptop.

"Silly, I'm not thinking that. I want you to read this." His face fell. "Hey, this is special. I've never shown anyone." he smiled a little and sat in the chair at my desk. I perched myself lightly on his knee and watched his face as he read. His eyes moved across the page slowly at first, absorbing every word. His brown eyes sped up, hungry for more enchanting words. As he reached the bottom of the page, he looked up at me in awe.

"Jay, this is amazing."

"I hope so," I chuckled. "I majored in it in college."

"Wow." I stood up, pulled him over to the couch and settled myself into his arms. I rested my head on the warm corner of his neck. He rolled up his shirtsleeves and loosened his tie. He rested a hand on his knee and played with my hair.

"I really like you, Seeley."

"I really like you too."

"I don't want to be any secrets because I think this could last for a really long time."

"Alright?"

"When we went to the diner," I said, and then took a breath. "Parker said something about how I had better not hurt you like Hannah. If Parker knows about it, it must have really affected you. Tell me. I want to help."

"Hannah…" he said with a sigh, remembering. "Last year, I was in Afghanistan training soldiers. Hannah was a journalist who decided to go in an area she wasn't allowed. I brought her out and we hit it off. We came back to DC, I went back to Bones and the Jeffersonian and after a little while, I proposed."

"Oh my gosh, Seeley. I'm so sorry."

"Obviously, she turned me down with the words 'I'm not the marrying kind'." I scooted over onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt his strong arms around my back and his lips quickly on my cheek. I let my fingers twist in his dark brown hair. He slipped one arm under my knees and carried me into my bedroom. I wasn't ready for that yet. We'd been together for less than a week. And I'm still so young…

"I can't," I said as he kissed my neck. "Seeley, I can't. I'm not ready for that yet." He lay on his back and I put my head on his chest. I could tell he was frustrated. Or disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Seeley," I sighed. I then realized how he'd perceived everything. Inviting him back here, listening while he bore his soul… "I'm so sorry I made you think—"

"No. Stop apologizing. It's fine. I understand. You're what…?"

"Twenty five."

"Twenty five. You're still so young. I'm a lot older than you."

"You can't be that much older."

"I'm thirty five."

"No way. And age doesn't matter to me."

"It's just…I've fallen in love before. A lot. I have a son, I've made two different marriage proposals to two different women. I've lived a lot more life. It's okay if you're not ready. I'll wait." he smiled lightly down at my and kissed my temple. I rested my hand on his chest. Thank our GOD that he'd wait with me.


End file.
